The big question about this game is, do you like football or baseball better? If you like football better, hop over to the Football Mogul review, because this is basically the same game. If you like baseball better, you're in the right place.

Baseball Mogul is Football Mogul with baseball. Baseball Mogul came out first, but both games run on the same engine, and have their subtle differences. Both games are fantastic for the hardcore or casual sports fan but still fun for the average person.

The graphics in Baseball Mogul are adequate. They serve their purpose, which is to inform you of statistics. To give the game credit, it does have plenty of easily navigated menus, and the toolbar layout works very well. Very few graphics except generic players and some goofy-looking agents detract a little from the overall experience.

The sound is pretty poor. There is no music, but instead little sound bites. When you choose concessions, a sound of beer pouring is heard. Fireworks accompany a division or league title. Fitting, but very worthless.

The real fun of the Mogul games is the game itself. Even though the players' names aren't real, you still feel like you're in command of a major league baseball franchise, which you are. Dump your players when they get old. Trade for young studs. Upgrade your bullpen by signing free agents. Whatever you want to do for your team that is possible in major league baseball, you can pretty much do in this game.

One disappointment is the lack of a baseball draft. The problem, of course, is the real baseball draft lasts 60 rounds. The prospects kind of just appear randomly, and the game would have been a lot better if even a 5- or 6-round draft was in it.

You can play Baseball Mogul literally forever. After going through almost twenty seasons, there is still no sign of the end. You will want to go through all of the seasons, too. This game is just that good.

For a baseball fan or a casual sports fan, this game rates very highly. For everyone else, a little lower, but it's still very good.

One of the best baseball simulations ever made, bar none. Baseball Mogul lets you assume the role of both General Manager and Manager for a professional baseball team of your choice. As the description on the official site makes clear: "You start in the Spring of 1998 with a 25 player roster and about 25 more AAA (minor league) players. All of these are the real players with real stats from your city's team. In your role as Manager, you set the starting defense, batting order and pitching rotation for your team. You choose who stays in the big leagues, who gets sent down to the minors, and who gets released altogether. As General Manager, you craft complex trades and sign multi-million dollar players, competing with artificially intelligent player agents and general managers." Baseball Mogul features excellent AI and solid play mechanics. You also get to control all the finances of your team, from setting the price of a ticket or a hot dog to allocating funds to your farm system, scouts and medical staff.

What makes Baseball Mogul an instant classic as opposed to merely a "good" game is the near-perfect balance between behind-the-scene finances and on-the-diamond performance. Plan the team's finances poorly, and you will suffer the consequences even if your team is performing well. The game is very open-ended, and virtually limitless in scope: you can run through an entire season in days or weeks-or more-depending on what time increment you set. You can adopt just about any management style, and tinker with hundreds of parameters to your heart's content. For example, you can play around with prices for Tickets, Concessions, and Broadcast, to successfully balance fans' demand and your financial goals. The AI provides a solid challenge, and there are virtually reams of statistics die-hard fans can pore through. And the results are just about as realistic as you can hope to see-if your management skills are up to the tasks, the game doesn't throw illogical or inexplicable events in your way to derail your success.

Although this first version of the game doesn't have the license to use real-life team and player names that its successor, Baseball Mogul 1999 enjoys, it is still a rock-solid simulation that garnered a loyal following among die-hard fans. Big thanks to designer Clay Dreslough and Infinite Monkey Systems for allowing us to distribute this game on the site. Now go play it, and be sure to visit the official website for news on the latest version, Baseball Mogul 2002, which has recently been released. After an endless stream of arcade-ish baseball "sims" and pretenders, Baseball Mogul is finally THE game that the hardest of hard-core baseball fans will love. A must-have, without a doubt, and a deserving winner of Computer Gaming World's "Best Sports Game of The Year" award in 1997.